Disposable syringe needle separation and storage box

Abstract

A vertically upright box-type outer enclosure includes a hinged, lockable front door permitting an upwardly open disposable jar container to be locked internally and aligned with a hole within the top of the box-type enclosure. A cylindrical drop chute fits to the hole and is barrel bolt locked in position with its lower end penetrating the top of the jar. The top of the drop chute carries a slotted needle remover plate, with the slot tapering such that a disposable sharp steel plastic needle holder frictionally fit to the lower end of a syringe barrel is inserted within the slot at its enlarged end, moved transversely within the slot such that the plastic needle holder is captured beneath the needle remover plate. The syringe body barrel is moved upwardly detaching the needle therefrom and permitting it to fall by gravity into the sharps impenetrable, jar type container. The door is periodically opened and the jar and accumulated needles removed.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A disposable syringe needle separation and storage box comprising a vertically upright outer enclosure, said outer enclosure including an externally lockable door for providing access to the interior thereof, an upwardly open syringe needle storage and disposal container positioned therein through said lockable door when open, said enclosure including a hole within the top thereof aligned with the open end of the upwardly open container, the improvement comprising: a tubular drop chute, removably axially positioned within said hole within the top of said enclosure,   means internally of said storage box for locking said tubular drop chute to said enclosure in alignment with said container opening,   a needle extractor fixedly mounted to the interior of said tubular chute, said needle extractor comprising a slotted plate at least partially closing off the interior of said drop chute, said plate including a tapered slot having a portion sized in excess to the diameter of the needle to permit manual penetration of the needle into said drop chute, below said extractor plate, permitting lateral movement of the sytinge to a position where the upper end of the needle contacts the bottom of said slotted plate,   whereby, the syringe barrel may be separated from the needle through single hand manipulation, movement laterally within the tapered slot, and by single handed pull of the syringe upwardly to separate the needle, such that the needle falls by gravity into the interior of said container;   whereby, when said syringe needle separation and storage box is in use, said tubular drop chute cannot be removed, since it is latched from the inside, and its removal from said needle separation and storage box and the removal of the disposal container bearing sharps can be accomplished only by unlocking the door, and unlocking of said drop chute from the storage box, thereby insuring the safety of the system.   
     
     
       2. The box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hole is circular, said drop chute comprises a cylindrical tube having an outer diameter slightly less than the diameter of the hole within the top of the enclosure, said drop chute comprises a radially enlarged collar at its upper end, and wherein the upper end of said collar projects above the upper end of said tube and is fixed thereto, and wherein said needle extractor comprises a thin plate having an outer periphery of a diameter matching the inner diameter of said collar and said needle etractor plate rests on the upper end of said tube and is fixed thereto. 
     
     
       3. The box as claimed in claim 2, wherein said tube includes a hole passing radially therethrough at a point below the lower edge of said collar, said inner container comprises an upright jar terminating in a tapered throat, said tube is of a length such that the lower end of the tube projects within said tapered throat when said drop chute is mounted to said enclosure with the container in place, and wherein said means for locking said drop chute to said enclosure comprises a laterally projectable barrel bolt mounted to the interior of said enclosure top, adjacent to the hole receiving said drop chute, and wherein the bolt is aligned with and positioned so as to partially project into the radial hole within the side of said tube such that the tube is mechanically locked to the enclosure by operation of said barrel bolt. 
     
     
       4. The box as claimed in claim 3, wherein said enclosure comprises a rectangular rectilinear parallelepiped structure including a hinged door, a key lock assembly mounted to said door, a door catch fixedly mounted to the interior of said enclosure and engageable by a latch of the key lock assembly for permitting said door to be locked in closed position, and wherein said barrel bolt is fixedly mounted to the top of said enclosure adjacent to the opening formed by said hinged door and is readily accessible from the outside when said hinged door is open to facilitate locking of said drop chute after placement of the jar in vertical upright position within the interior of the said outer enclosure.